Iron Bee 2
by Queen Apolline
Summary: AKA How Biela Ran Around the US With Her Fingers In All the Pies. Bianca Elaria Evans-Stark is back, and this time, she has a suit of her own as she helps her dad fight Whiplash, assists SHIELD in its investigation into a mysterious hammer in New Mexico, monitors her old friend and idol Dr. Banner, and plays matchmaker between her dad and Pepper. What could go wrong?
1. Welcome Back

**Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man or the Avengers.**

**Warning: Mentions of rape (but if you've read Iron Bee, you already know that.)**

**AN: Welcome Back to the Iron Bee! (and the Stark Expo, but we'll get to that in a minute). The beginning updates will be quicker than the rest, as the first ten or so chapters have been written already, but this story looks like it is going to be longer than the Iron Bee. I hope y'all enjoy! Oh, and if you haven't read the Iron Bee, I would recommend reading that first.**

"This is 0-70 at thirty knots holding steady at fifteen thousand feet, you are cleared for exteriorization over the drop zone," the pilot announced. The radio chatter continued as the back of the plane opened up. Biela smiled. It had been six months since Tony's "I am Iron Man." In those six months, she'd gotten to know her father better as they built the Iron Bee suit, as they destroyed the terrorists of the world (finishing the total annihilation of the Ten Rings was amazing, Tony had been so mad when he'd learned they'd raped his daughter), and overall having a good time. She'd been introduced to coffee (Starbucks Triple-Shot Caramel Macchiato with two dashes of vanilla and extra whip and chocolate drizzle: Best. Drink. Ever.)

She'd had her eleventh birthday only a week after the Iron Man announcement. That's when she'd first been gifted with her suit. "The Mark IB," Tony had said, "is for your protection, not for any crazy stunts. I'm trusting you to be a responsible pre-teen." Then they'd grinned at each other, because the words "responsible" and "Stark" don't go together at all. And Tony had given her some Stark Industries (probably illegal, but not harmful) supplements, in order for her to regain the growth she'd lost while in the Afghani cave. She was _taller_ now. In other words, her life was awesome.

She watched as Tony leaped out of the back of the jet. She was holding tightly to the side of the plane, in her Bee suit so she could fly down. Her enhanced vision watched him as he soared through downwards, doing tricks and avoiding fireworks. Oops, he got hit by a firework. She probably shouldn't have thought that. Right before he reached the stage, she jumped out of the back of the jet as well, while the crowd was distracted by him. She was still watching him, but she dodged the fireworks a bit more successfully. He landed in the same way he did everything: dramatically.

He started pumping the crowd up. Fireworks were exploding, sparks were flying, the dancers in the background wore Iron Man bikinis…okay, that was a bit much. Whatever the case, the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows, New York, (seriously, what kind of name was that? Flushing Meadows)) was the place to be tonight. Biela landed behind the stage and folded her suit back up under her long skirt and turtleneck. She walked backstage where a TV screen was depicting everything Tony was doing. Pepper greeted her with a nod. She would be the last to leave tonight, due to her intricate involvement with the press releases.

The robots came out from the stage and started disassembling the suit, revealing Tony's dazzling smile and the tuxedo he wore underneath the Mark IV. It was very, very uncomfortable, and it caused an awful wedgie (Biela knew from experience), but it looked a whole lot cooler, she had to admit. Tony turned around to face the crowd once the dancers finished their highly provocative dance (Tony's idea, no doubt.) "Oh, it's good to be back!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Did you miss me? I missed you too."

Biela rolled her eyes. Ever the drama queen, that he was. "Blow something up!" a man in the crowd yelled. "Blow something up?" Tony asked. "I already did that." As Pepper had told her many, many times, it was obvious who she got her snarky comments from. "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me." "Yes, you are," Biela said into the earpiece that connected her to Tony. As Tony smirked at her comment, the crowd started applauding and screaming. If there was one thing Tony knew how to do, it was how to work a crowd.

"I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a better phoenix metaphor been personified in human history," Tony said, holding his arms out. Biela snorted. "I'm a better phoenix metaphor than you," she said into the earpiece. "I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping some iced tea, because I haven't met anyone who is man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day!" "I've gone toe-to-toe with you," Biela said. "So has Pepper. And we've won, too."

The crowd was cheering like mad now. "I love you, Tony!" one woman shouted. "Please," Tony said, holding up his hand. "It's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations, and that's why, for the next year, and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future!" The crowd began cheering again.

"It's not about us," Tony reiterated. "Therefore, what I am saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo!" The crowd roared. "And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond, to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my father, Howard." Tony left the stage as the old video came on the screen.

"Everything is achievable through technology," Howard said. "Better living! Robust health! And for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. So from all of us here at Stark Industries, I would like to personally introduce you to the city of the future. Technology holds infinite possibilities for mankind, and will one day be able to cure society of all its illnesses. Soon technology will affect the way you live your life every day. No more tedious work, leaving more time for leisure activities and enjoying the sweet life. The Stark Expo. Welcome."

Biela rolled her eyes. After a lot of persuasion, and some blackmail, Tony had told her how Howard Stark had treated him. She didn't even call him Grandpa. In her mind, he was Howard Stark. But then again, her dad was still Tony. She walked over to where Tony was standing. His back was to her. "Why'd you even include that video? You hate him!" Tony hurriedly shoved a small thing into his pocket as he turned around.

"Yeah, but it makes the people happy," he said. "You ready?" "Yeah, my stuff's all in my car. You headed back to the NY house?" "Probably. You and Pepper are taking the jet back to Malibu, right?" "I think so. I'm meeting her at the airport." "Drive safe," Tony said, tossing her the keys from his pocket. "Always," Biela replied, grabbing them out of the air. She was technically underage, but she also technically didn't exist, so Tony had done some work for SHIELD in exchange for a legal fake identity (complete with driver's license) for her.

"Be careful, it's a zoo out there," Happy said as they walked out the door. Biela followed a few moments later, finding it a lot easier to get out since everyone was following Tony. She slipped through the crowds to her car, which had been brought to the front. Thankfully, Tony liked his cars enough that three could fit on the jet. Tony's car was parked right behind hers. She made it to hers first. However, there was a woman leaning against Tony's car.

"Who are you?" she asked as she unlocked her car. "What's it to you?" the woman asked. Biela gave her a look. "You're either trying to sleep with him or he's in trouble, and as I work closely with his PA, I need to know." "I'm delivering a sub poena. He's being ordered to appear in front of the Senate Arms Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9." "Rats, I was really hoping to sleep in. Have fun talking to Tony!" She slammed her car door shut and sped off, headed for the airport.

During the drive, she called Pepper. "Biela, are you still driving?" the woman asked in accusingly. "Yes, but this is important," she said. "You've only been driving six months! You shouldn't be talking on the phone at the same time!" "Pepper, I've spent more hours driving in the past six months than you have in the past six years. I'm fine. Anyway, Tony's being ordered to appear before the Senate tomorrow. Have the pilot change the course to DC instead of LA." Pepper sighed. "Will that be all, Miss Stark?" "That will be all, Miss Potts," Biela replied, taking up her dad's old mantra.


	2. The Senate Hearing

Senator Stern tapped his gavel on the podium. "Mr. Stark," he said, trying to get Tony's attention. Biela and Tony had been in the midst of a silent conversation that involved a lot of strange faces for the past ten minutes. Pepper gestured for him to turn around. "We'll pick up now where we left off," the Senator continued. "Mr. Stark, please," the man said in his annoying, slightly girlish voice. "Yes, dear?" Tony asked as he turned around. "Always the comedian," Biela said to Pepper as the crowd laughed. The Senator ignored it. "Can I have your attention?" "Absolutely," Tony said. "Yeah, right," Biela muttered under her breath.

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" Stern asked. "I do not," Tony said. "You do not," Stern repeated. "I do not," Tony said again. "Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon." "The Iron Man weapon," the Senator said. "My device does not fit that description," Tony said calmly. Biela smirked. She had spent four hours helping Tony with his speech before they'd gone to bed that morning. "Then how would you describe it?" Stern questioned. "I would describe by defining it as what it is, Senator," Tony replied seriously.

"And it is?" the Senator asked patronizingly. Tony pretended to think about it. "It's a high-tech prosthesis," he said. The crowd laughed. "That is, that is actually the most apt description I could make for it," Tony said. "It's a weapon, it's a weapon," Senator Stern repeated. "And for the good of the US…" "Please, if your goal was actually the well-being…" Tony began. "My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America," the Senator said.

"Well, you can't have it," Tony said. "Forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which would amount to indentured servitude, or prostitution, depending on what state you're in." The crowd chuckled. "You can't have it," Tony said with a cocky tilt of his head. "I'm no expert," Stern began. "In prostitution? Of course not, you're a senator, c'mon!" He turned and gave a peace sign to the crowd, winking discreetly at Biela.

"I'm no expert in weapons," the Senator continued, pretending not to have heard Tony. "But we have someone here who is an expert on weapons. I would like to call on Justin Hammer, current primary weapons contractor." This caused Tony to sit up straighter. Biela rolled her eyes when they called on Hammer and pulled out her StarkPad. They hadn't anticipated this, but that guy was an idiot. It would be fun see how much Tony could humiliate him on national television. In the meantime, she'd observe and see how many flaws she could find and dissect.

"Let the record reflect that I observed Mr. Hammer entering the chamber and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance, besides me or my staff." The crowd chuckled again. Biela outright laughed. She knew more about weapons than Justin Hammer did. She began furiously typing on her StarkPad. Hammer lifted his glass to Tony with a pained smile.

"Absolutely," Hammer said. "I'm no expert. For that I defer to you, Anthony, wonder boy." Biela rolled her eyes at the flattery. She put down "too prideful to get speechwriter." "Ah, Senator, if I may," Justin Hammer said, "I may not be an expert, but you know who was THE expert?" He turned and pointed to Tony. "Your dad! Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military industrial age."

Biela could see Tony resisting rolling his eyes. If it weren't for all the cameras on him, he'd be doing it. "But let's just be clear, he was no flower child," Hammer continued. "He was a lion. We all know why we're here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted Anthony, I really do, enough to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house. But this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man, God bless America."

He sat down to light clapping. "That was one of the most pathetic speeches I've ever heard," Biela said, still furiously typing up notes on Justin Hammer. Good thing that the StarkPad was silent. "What are you doing?" Pepper whispered. "Writing up a report on Hammer," Biela replied. "I so want to see Tony take him down."

"That is well said, Mr. Hammer," Stern said. "The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber." "Rhodey?" Tony asked at the same time that Pepper and Biela did. They all turned to watch the man in question walk into the chamber. "What?" Tony asked as he got up to greet the man. "Hey buddy," Tony greeted. "Didn't expect to see you here," he said, shaking his hand. "Look, it's me, I'm here, deal with it, let's move on," Rhodey said. "I just…" Tony began. "Drop it," Rhodey ordered. "Alright, I'll drop it," Tony replied as they walked back to the front.

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon compiled by Colonel Rhodes," Stern said. "And Colonel, for the record, can you please read Page 57, Paragraph 4?" "You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?" Rhodey questioned. "Yes, sir," Stern replied. "It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive area, in detail…" "I understand," Stern interrupted. "A lot of things have changed today," he said, straightening his tie. "You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the subject matter of my report?" Rhodey asked. "Just read, Colonel, I do," Stern ordered. "Very well," Rhodey replied.

Rhodey began to read. Tony glanced back at Biela and mouthed, "Is this the report you wrote for him?" She nodded. "As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to both the nation and to her interests." Rhodey looked over at Tony. "I did, however, go on, to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities and that it would be in the best interests to enfold Mr. Stark into the existing chain of command system." Senator Stern spent the entire last sentence trying to stop Rhodey from talking.

Biela opened a new file on her StarkPad and began typing about him. "I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense, if you ask nice," Tony joked in the most serious manner possible. Senator Stern cleared his throat amidst the laughs. Listening to Tony speak, even in such a serious setting, never was boring. "I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report." "I believe it's somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time," Rhodey protested.

Biela's eyes widened in glee. Stern was getting desperate. They were winning. "With all due respect, Colonel, I understand it, if you could just narrate those for us, we'd be very grateful." Rhodey gestured and they pulled the television screens up. "Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are in fact man's attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark's suit." Biela saw Tony pull out his phone. He was going to hack them. This was going to be beautiful. "This information has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground, indicating that the suits are, quite possibly, at this moment, operational."

Biela could clearly see Tony's phone. He was almost in. "Hold on a second, buddy," Tony interrupted. He leaned over and held his phone up to the screen. He hit a few buttons. "Oh boy, I am good," Tony said as the first screen said, 'Welcome, Mr. Stark.' "I commandeered your screens. I need 'em. Time for a little transparency." He accessed the second screen. "Now let's see what's really going on." "What is he doing?" Stern asked.

"If you'll direct your attention to said screens," Tony said, manipulating a few more things on his phone, "I believe that's North Korea." The suit on the screen looked like something out of science fiction film. It failed quickly. "Can you turn that off, take it off," Stern ordered. "Iran," Tony said, and another suit crashed to the ground and blew up. "No grave, immediate threat here," Tony said. "Is that Justin Hammer?" he asked.

Biela lit up with glee and furiously started typing again. She made sure to record all of this. "How did Hammer get in here?" Tony asked with mock curiosity. This was not looking good for Hammer. "Justin, you're on TV, focus up," he mocked again. Hammer was furiously trying to turn the screen off. Biela laughed as Hammer's prototype failed dramatically. Hammer finally unplugged the screen.

"Wow," Tony said. "Yeah, I'd say, uh, most countries, five, ten years away, Hammer Industries, twenty." "I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived," Hammer said, furiously trying to salvage his reputation. "I think we're done here," Tony said. "I don't see the point that he's making," Stern said. "That's because you're an idiot," Biela muttered under her breath. "The point is that, you're welcome," Tony said with a careless wave of his hand. "I guess." "What?" Stern asked. "Because," Tony said, sitting straighter,  
"I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property, you can't have it! But I did you a big favor! I've successfully privatized world peace!"

Tony stood up, making peace signs with both hands, his way of remembering the young soldier, Jimmy, who'd died trying to protect him when he was captured by the Ten Rings. Tony got a standing ovation. "What more do you want?" he yelled. "For now! I'm trying to play ball with these ass clowns!" Senator Stern finally broke. "**** you, Mr. Stark. **** you, buddy. We're adjourned, we're adjourned for the day." "Okay," Tony said, taking that as a challenge. He turned back to Stern and grabbed his sunglasses and put them on. He made two air kisses to Senator Stern. Rhodey was just shaking his head. "You've been a delight," Senator Stern muttered. "My bond is with the people," Tony said into the cameras. "And I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. If there's one thing I've proven, it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself."

Biela and Pepper stood up and followed him out. This time, Happy was driving Pepper, and Biela would ride with Tony. As soon as they were in the car, Biela said, "That was one of your best yet." "Thank you," Tony said. "Did you really write that it was a liability in the military report? And why did you write the report anyway?" "'Cause Rhodey helped you rescue me," Biela replied. "It was the least I could do. And military reports have to show all the sides. I mentioned the dark side in that one paragraph, and spent the other two hundred pages praising you up and down. And I've got a couple very nice psychological personality reports on Justin Hammer and Senator Stern. Could you help me hack them later? I want all the dirt on them possible." "Sure. Don't worry about Hammer, though, his software's a piece of junk. Ready?" "Let's go." The Audi roared off.


	3. Pepper Promoted

Tony clapped his hands twice. His workshop began to light up. "Wake up, Daddy's home," he instructed. "Welcome home, Sir," Jarvis greeted. "Congratulations on the opening ceremonies, it was such a success, as was your senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you in a video with your clothing on, sir?" Jarvis said as he pulled up the YouTube video of the senate hearing. "Ha-ha-ha," Tony laughed. "May I ask where Miss Stark is?" the AI asked. "She's upstairs, hacking Hammer Industries," Tony replied. "Have you finished total integration in the house yet?" "Almost, sir," the AI replied.

Over in the corner kitchenette, You started the blender and it went flying. "You," Tony called. The robot knocked over the blender entirely as it turned around. "Careful with that, I'll dismantle you, I'll sell your motherboard, and I'll turn you into a wine rack." The robot lowered its head sadly. "20 ounces a day of this," Tony muttered as he poured himself a glass of chlorophyll. "God, there must be some plants disappearing." "We are up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir," Jarvis informed him. "How are you planning on keeping this a secret from Miss Stark? She is your personal doctor." "That is a very good question, and I'm working on it," Tony said. "Don't tell Bee." "Yes, sir."

Tony pulled out the blood tester and ordered, "Check palladium poisoning." He pushed his thumb onto the needle. As the results came up, Tony pulled his finger away and announced, "Blood toxicity: 24% It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition." Jarvis pulled up the specs on one of the screens. "Another core has been depleted," he announced.

Tony pulled the arc reactor out and ejected the smoking core. "God, they're running out quick," he commented as he pulled it out. "I have run simulations on every known element," Jarvis announced. "And none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core." Tony put the new core in and watched it seal itself up. He put it in as Jarvis said, "You are running out of both time and options." Tony began to breathe easier as the device re-engaged. "Unfortunately, the device that is keeping you alive is also killing you."

Tony pulled his shirt up in front of the mirror. The dark lines on his chest looked like puzzle pieces. "Sir, Miss Potts is approaching. I recommend that you inform her of…" "Mute," Tony ordered as Pepper came down the stairs. He heard her put in the code and opened the door. "Uh-uh," Tony said. "Is this a joke?" Pepper asked. "What are you thinking?" "What?" Tony asked. "What are you thinking?" Pepper demanded. "Eh…I'm thinking I'm busy…and you're angry, about something. Do you have the sniffles? I don't want to get sick."

"Did you just donate our entire modern arts collection to the…" "Boy Scouts of America?" Tony put in. "Boy Scouts of America!"Pepper exclaimed. "This is a worthwhile organization," Tony said as he walked through his files and disposed of things as he willed. "I didn't physically check the crates, but yes. And it's not our collection, it's my collection. No offense." "No, you know what?" Pepper said, still yelling. "I think I'm actually entitled to say our collection, considering the time that I put in, over ten years, curating that." "You know, it's a tax write-up, I needed that." "You know, there's only about eight thousand and eleven things that I really need to talk to you about."

"Dummy," Tony called as he patted the robot. "Stop spacing out. "Hey. Stop spacing out. The bridge port's already in that machine's parts." "The Expo is a gigantic waste of time," Pepper said. "I need you to wear a surgical mask," Tony said as she coughed. "Just 'til you're feeling better, is that okay?" "That's rude," Pepper said hoarsely. "There's nothing more important to me than the Expo, it's my primary point of concern." "The Expo is your ego going crazy," Pepper pointed out.

"Wow, look at that," Tony said, finding an Iron Man painting. "That's modern art," he said. "That's going up." "Oh, you have got to be kidding," Pepper groaned. "I'm going to put this up right now," Tony said, walking around, looking for a place to put it. "Stark is in complete disarray," Pepper informed him. "Why do you…" Tony began as Pepper said, "Don't you understand that?" "No!" Tony exclaimed. "Our stocks have never been higher." "Yes, from a managerial standpoint!" Pepper exclaimed. "Well if it's messy, let's double back, let's move on to another subject," he said, finding where he wanted to put the poster. "No, no, no, you are not taking down the Barnett Newman and putting that up instead!" Pepper exclaimed.

"I'm not taking it down, I'm replacing it with this," Tony said, shoving everything off the counter and climbing up. "Let's just see where I can…Where's Bee?" "In her room, working on psych reports, and don't change the subject!" Pepper cried. "Okay, fine," Pepper said. "My point is…we have already awarded contracts to the wind farm people…" "Don't say wind farm, I'm already feeling gassy," Tony said. "And to the plastic plantation people," Pepper continued, "which was your idea, by the way, those people are on payroll…" "Everything is my idea." "And you won't make a decision!" Pepper finished. "I don't care about the liberal agenda anymore! It's boring, I'm giving you a boring alert. Do it." "I do what?" Pepper asked.

"Excellent idea," Tony said, as if he was just coming up with it. "I just figured this out. You run the company. Pepper, I need you to run the company." "Yeah, I'm trying to run the company," Pepper told him with a disbelieving look. "Well stop trying to do it and do it," Tony said. "You will not give me the information that I need," Pepper insisted. "I need you to physically do it," Tony said. "I am trying to do it!" Pepper yelled. "You're not listening to me!" Tony responded. "No, you're not listening to me!" Pepper called back. "I'm trying to make you CEO!" Tony insisted. Pepper froze. "Why won't you let me?" Tony asked.

"Have you been drinking?" Pepper asked, looking deep into his eyes, a concerned look on her face. "Ah, chlorophyll," Tony said. Pepper was still staring in shock. Tony stepped forward. "I hereby, irrevocably, appoint you Chairman and CEO of Stark Industries, effective immediately." Pepper almost started hyperventilating. "Yeah," Tony said, thinking that it was getting awkward. "Done deal. 'Kay?" Tony walked away.

"I've actually given this a fair amount of thought," Tony said, getting a couple glasses of champagne. "Believe it or not. Done a bit of headhunting." He pulled out a bottle of champagne. "Trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be. And then I realized," he said, popping the cork off the champagne and turning around to look at her. "It's you. It's always been you," he said as he poured two glasses of champagne.

Pepper took a few steps forward and sat down. "I thought there'd be a legal issue," Tony admitted. "But actually, I'm, uh, capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you," he said, extending some champagne to her. She finally realized that he was telling the truth, and an awestruck look came over her face. "Congratulations," Tony offered. Tony waved the champagne glass in front of her face. "Take it, just take it," he ordered. "I don't know what to think," Pepper replied, starting to tear up as she took the champagne glass. "Don't think, drink," Tony replied. He offered her a toast and she giggled as they drunk the champagne.


	4. Natalie Rushman

The next day, Pepper strode into the rec room and called out, "The notary's here!" Tony and Happy were in the middle of a boxing match. "Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?" "I'm on Happy's time," Tony called back. He punched Happy in the face. "Sorry," he said quickly as the he jolted backwards. "What the hell was that?" the bodyguard demanded. "It's called mixed martial arts, it's been around for…three weeks," Tony replied. "It's called dirty boxing and there's nothing new about it," Happy retorted.

"Alright, put'em up, c'mon," Happy said. Then his gaze turned to behind Tony. The billionaire turned around. The woman standing there watching them was gorgeous, with shoulder length, deep red curls. Her low cut shirt and tight pants were bordering on the edge of inappropriate for work. "I promise you this is the only time I'm going to ask you to sign over your company," Pepper said drily.

Tony watched as the woman told Pepper, "I need you to initial here, and here…" Happy punched him in the back of the head. "Lesson one, never take your eye off your…whoa!" he yelled as Tony kicked him in the chest, to the other side of the ring. A quick flurry of punches and they were finished. "That's it, I'm done," Tony said as he picked up his bottle of Gatorade.

"What's your name, lady?" he called out, pointing to her. "Rushman, Natalie Rushman," she replied. "Front and center," Tony ordered. "Please enter the church." "No," Pepper said. "You're seriously not gonna…" "If it pleases the court, which it does," Tony replied. "It's not a problem," the woman said, striding forward to enter the boxing ring. Before she stepped in, she kicked her heels off. Tony held up the ropes for her to enter.

He was right that she was gorgeous. Auburn hair, full lips, pale skin, deep green eyes…Tony took a drink of Gatorade. She watched him the whole time. "Ah," Tony said. "What?" he asked at the small smirk on her face. She said nothing. "Can you, uh, give her a lesson?" he asked Happy. "No problem," the bodyguard replied as Tony stepped out of the ring.

"What?" Pepper asked as he walked over. "Who's she?" "She is from Legal, and she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that." "I need a new assistant, Boss, I need a new assistant," Tony replied. Pepper didn't look up from her phone. "Yes, and I have three excellent potential candidates; they're lined up and ready to meet you." "I don't have time to meet, I need someone now, I feel like it's her." Pepper finally looked up, but she didn't look at him. "No, it's not."

Tony could barely hear Natalie's conversation with Happy. "You ever boxed before?" the bodyguard asked. "I have, actually, yes," she replied. That wasn't expected. "What, like Tae-bo? Booty boot camp? Crunch, something like that?" She looked down as Tony called out, "How do I spell your name, Natalie?" "R-U-S-H-M-A-N," she called back.

"What, are you gonna Google her now?" Pepper asked. "I thought I was ogling her," Tony replied as he searched the SI employee database. "Oh wow. Very, very impressive individual. She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin…who speaks Latin?" "No one speaks Latin, it's a dead language." Tony zoomed in on one of the photos, of Natalie in some very suggestive lingerie. "You can read Latin, or you can write in Latin, but you can't speak…" "Did you model in Tokyo?" Tony interrupted. ""Cause she modeled in Tokyo." He could faintly hear Happy's boxing lesson in the background. "Well…" Pepper said.

Natalie began to turn around as Tony said, "She's everything that I need." "Rule number one," Happy said condescendingly. "Never take your oppo…" he began to punch her, but she caught his glove and twisted it. He twisted in pain, and she flipped, grabbing his neck between her thighs and taking him down. "Whoa," Tony said as Pepper cried out, "Oh my God!" Natalie let him up as Pepper came over. "Happy," Pepper called. "That's what I'm talking about," Tony said, impressed.

"I slipped," Happy said. "You did?" Tony asked. "Yeah," Happy said as Tony hit the bell twice. "Looks like a TKO to me." Natalie climbed out of the boxing ring. "Oh," she said as Tony came up to her. "I, um, need your impression." Tony got a thoughtful look on his face. "You've got a quiet reserve, I don't know, an old soul…" "I meant your fingerprint," she said, extending the ink and the contract. "Right," Tony said.

"So how we doing?" Pepper asked as she came over. "Great, just have fun, okay?" Tony replied as he fingerprinted the document. "You're the boss," he said as Natalie snapped it closed. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Natalie asked. "No," Tony said, just as Pepper said, "Yes, that will be all, Miss Rushman, thank you very much." The woman turned and left the room. Tony and Pepper watched her leave. "I want one," Tony said. "No," Pepper replied.


	5. Biela Works Her Magic

Biela had been watching over security cameras, and something about the woman didn't seem right. She caught her in the hall. "Excuse me, Miss Rushman, would you please step in here for a moment?" she asked sweetly. "I'm sorry, who are you?" the woman asked. "Bianca Evans, personal doctor and translator of Mr. Stark. Now, if you please?" The woman did as she was asked. Biela analyzed her. Her every move…it pointed towards one thing.

Biela closed the door behind them and ordered, "Jarvis, Override Code CS1128-9." "Override code accepted," the AI replied. "Don't try to copy that, it's voice activated only, and it requires a full body scan to make sure it's actually me," she warned "Natalie," moving to sit down on the couch. "What was it for?" the woman asked. "To give us a little privacy," she replied. "So, Agent Romanoff, care to tell me why you're here?"

There was a flash of fear in the woman's eyes, but she said politely, "I'm sorry?" "Cut the act, I know you're the Black Widow, aka Agent Natasha Romanoff of SHIELD, formerly known as Natalia Alianovna Romanova, product of the Soviet Union's Red Room and one-time agent of the KGB, member of Strike Team Delta, partnered with…" "Okay, okay, you got me. So, who are you, really?" the agent asked. Biela laughed outright. "They didn't tell you? Fury and Coulson both know. My name is Bianca Elaria Evans-Stark, better known as Biela Stark, and I'm Tony's daughter."

Agent Romanoff's jaw dropped. Biela held back laughter. "Coulson and Fury both know about this?" Biela nodded. "So…how did you figure it out?" She shrugged. "You act like a spy. I don't know how to explain it any other way. However, your motives are positive, not negative, so I gleaned that you're not planning on hurting Tony, you just need info, and you might even help him. You're too good to be FBI or CIA, so SHIELD it was. Your Russia accent slipped through a bit, and combined with the fact that your whole outfit screams sexy, but not quite seductive, I deduced you were the Black Widow."

The agent stared in shock. Biela laughed. "Ask Coulson to brief you on me. And I can almost guarantee you that you'll be hired as Tony's new PA within the next week, so see you in Monaco!" Biela exited the room, followed closely by the stunned agent. "Will that be all, Miss St-I mean, Miss Evans?" she asked, finally finding her voice. "That will be all, Miss Rushman," Biela replied with a smile. She deactivated the override and went back to her room.


	6. Coulson's Call

**Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man or the Avengers, and I never will.**

**AN: This chapter is completely fictionalized...I think it's the first chapter that I've published that is.**

It was only two days later when Biela got a call late at night. She knew who it was. There was only one person with a blocked number who ever called her. "Hey, Coulson," she said as she picked up the phone. "Do you have a reason for calling me at eleven o'clock at night?" "Sorry, Miss Stark, but we have a proposition for you," Coulson said. "Coulson, call me Biela, I told you that," Biela replied. "Fine, Biela then," Coulson said. "As you know, SHIELD has been keeping an eye on you for the past few months, due to your family connections, special abilities, and knack for being everywhere at just the right time."

"Cut to the chase, Coulson," Biela said. "We want to recruit you," the agent replied bluntly. Biela laughed. "You think that my dad would ever, ever let you anywhere near me? And I'm eleven, I can't even legally work yet." "SHIELD makes its own rules," Coulson informed her. "But we figured that would be your answer, which is why we're officially going to make you a consultant." "Why?" Biela asked. "Because you figure everything out anyway, and this way we can get you to sign a non-disclosure agreement."

"'Kay, when do I sign?" Biela asked. She could practically hear Coulson's shock. "That easy?" "Well, it gets me info easier," she replied. "Probably gets me into places I shouldn't be as well. So, are you emailing it or sending it via Agent Romanoff?" "It should be in your account now," Coulson replied. "Agent Romanoff will pick it up from you tomorrow."

After a short moment of silence while Biela pulled up her email, she asked him knowingly, "So what is it you wanted to tell me about?" "What do you mean?" Coulson asked, a little too quickly to be sincere. "Coulson. Spill," Biela ordered. He sighed. "Dr. Bruce Banner was sighted in a bottling plant, in a favela outside Rio de Janeiro. He had another Incident." That perked Biela's interest. Coulson knew that she had been trying to find the kind doctor.

"Was he being attacked?" she asked. "Ross won't let up on him," he said. "That man's obsession with creating a new soldier is…maddening. He was doing some other research, and lamenting the loss of Dr. Evans, but Fury shut him down, despite the objections of the World Security Council." Biela said some not-very-nice things in Arabic. "Biela, language," Coulson warned. "Anyway, the fact that Ross's daughter was harmed in the first Incident was the catalyst that sparked Ross's extreme hatred of Banner."

"Dr. Banner would never hurt Betty willingly," Biela said vehemently. "Neither would his alter ego. The only reason she was hurt the first time is because he was still disoriented from his first time turning. After all, he saved me." "Of course," Coulson said. "From your analysis of Dr. Banner, SHIELD has deemd that he is not a threat. However, the World Security Council and the US military feel differently." "So, how did they find him?" Biela asked. "Dr. Banner was working at the bottling plant, and his blood ended up in one of the bottles. That's how Ross found him. A team was sent in under Emil Blonsky. Everyone but Blonsky was killed."

"What is SHIELD planning to do?" Biela asked. "SHIELD is going to monitor him, and when we find him, well, Director Fury is hoping that you'll go in and assess his mental stability and ensure that he is not a threat to the general population as long as he is not disturbed." "I'm all for it," she said quickly. "Keep me posted." "Will do," Coulson said, just before he hung up.

**AN: Does anybody else track how many Avengers fanfics there are, and how far it is to beating the next one up (46 at the moment) or is it just me? I've kind of been doing this for a year now, during which Avengers fanfics have moved up to #4 (soon to be #3.)**


	7. Monaco

They arrived in Monaco for the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique in style. Private plane to Monaco, and then Happy chauffeured them to the Hotel de Paris where they were staying to watch the race. "Bee," Tony asked suddenly as they pulled up, "what's…" "English, French, and Monegasque," she replied. He nodded, then asked, "Do you…" "Yes. Learned Monegasque last week," Biela smirked. Tony let out a low whistle. "You are awesome." "It's a family trait," she replied. Pepper and Happy rolled their eyes.

As the car stopped, the crowds began to cheer. Tony got out and gave his signature peace sign, to the spectators' excitement. He then let Biela out the front door as Happy let Pepper out the back. As they walked in, Tony told Pepper, "Now remember, no matter what happens in the next…twenty minutes, just go with it." "Go with what, Mr. Stark?" she asked. "Like that," Tony said approvingly.

Biela caught sight of Natalie waiting for them. "Hey," Tony said, whipping off his sunglasses. "Hello," she replied. "How was your flight?" "It was excellent," Tony replied. "Nice to see you." "We have one photographer from the ACM if you don't mind," she said, gesturing. "If you'll take these," Tony said, gesturing to the glasses he and Pepper had just been handed. Biela quickly stepped back to join Natalie as the photographer stepped forward. She discreetly slipped the contract from her purse to Natalie's.

"When did this happen?" Pepper asked through her smile. "You made me do it," Tony replied. "I made you do what?" Pepper asked lowly. Biela was sure that she was the only one who could hear them. "Smile," Tony instructed, striking a pose. Pepper laughed, annoyed. "Stop acting constipated," Tony said, still smiling for the press, much different from his real smile. "You are so predictable," Pepper said. "Don't blow your nostrils," Tony added. When the picture was over, he said, "Thanks," and dropped the smile.

"You look fantastic," he said to Natalie. She did. The spy somehow managed to make the low, salmon dress look good with her red hair. "Why, thank you very much," she replied. "But that's not professional," Tony added. "What's on the docket?" "You have a nine-thirty dinner," she said. "I'll be there at eleven," he replied. "Absolutely," she replied. "Is this us?" Tony asked. "It can be," Natalie replied. "Great, make it us," Tony said. "Okay."

He moved to his seat at the table, and Biela set her purse down next to him. She could hear Pepper greeting another businessman. "Mr. Musk," she said. "How are you?" "Hi, Pepper, congratulations on the promotion," the man said as he rose. "You look great," he said, shaking her hand. "Thank you very much," she replied with a smile. Tony turned to the man and shook his hand. "How's Merlin?" the billionaire asked. "Good, I've got an idea for an electric jet." "You do?" Tony asked, surprised. "Then we'll make it happen." He and Pepper began to walk away. Biela followed close behind.

"Do you want a massage?" she heard Tony ask. "Oh God, no I don't want a massage," Pepper said. "I'll have Natalie make you an appointment, I don't want you to be tense," Tony said. "I don't want Natalie to do anything," Pepper replied. "You want one, Bee?" "No thanks," she said. "By the way," Tony said, guiding Pepper to the bar, "I didn't mean to spring this on you," Tony said. "Thank you very much," Pepper said to a waiter. "Green is not your best color," he said to her. "Oh please," Pepper said, sitting down at the bar beside Tony. Biela sat on her other side.

She was about to put something in when she noticed who was a few seats down. He poked his head out and said, "Anthony? Is that you?" Biela groaned inwardly. She hated Justin Hammer. So did Tony. He said, "Well, if it isn't my least favorite person on Earth, Justin Hammer!" "How you doing?" Hammer asked. Pepper smirked lightly. So did Biela. "You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car," the man said.

"You know Christine Everhart, from Vanity Fair, you guys know each other?" "Hi," Christine said. "Yes," Biela said nodding lightly. How could anyone forget the reporter who had a. been Tony's last 'conquest' before Afghanistan, b. shown him the pictures of Gulmira, and c. pushed him into revealing he was Iron Man?"

"Yes, yes we do," Pepper said, just as Tony said, "Yes, roughly." "BTW, big story," Hammer said to Christine, "the new CEO of Stark Industries, congratulations," he said, pointing to Pepper. "I know, I know," Christine said. "My editor will kill me if I don't at least grab a quote for our powerful women issue." "Oh, sure," Pepper said with a press smile and a nod.

"Um, she's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair," Hammer bragged. "For my own, right?" "Oh," Pepper said, managing to look interested. Biela schooled her features to match. "Well, she did quite a spread on Tony last year," Biela mentioned. "And she wrote a story as well," Tony interrupted. "It was very impressive," Pepper noted. "That was good," Tony said. "Very well done," Biela added. "Thank you," the reporter nodded. "I'm going to go wash," Pepper said, excusing herself to her table. "Don't leave me," Tony said desperately. Biela followed Pepper to the table, grabbed her StarkPad out of her purse, and went back to Tony.

"Hey buddy, how you doing?" Hammer said, clapping Tony on the back. "I'm all right," Tony said. "You're looking gorgeous," Hammer said. "This is not, I'm not," Tony tried to say. He put his sunglasses on to pose for the photographer. "Can I ask, is this the first time you guys have seen each other since the…" the photographer snapped a picture. "That was awful," Tony said with a fake smile, pushing Hammer away.

"Listen, is this the first time you've seen each other since the Senate?" Christine asked. "Uh, since he got his contract revoked, when you were, yeah," Tony said. "Actually, it's on hold," Hammer interrupted trying to save his reputation in front of the reporter. "That's not what I heard," Tony said, walking away. Biela followed him. "What's the difference between 'on hold' and 'cancelled'?" Tony asked. "Yes, what is it?" Christine asked. "The truth?" Tony asked. "Ah, the truth is, why don't we put that away," he said, slapping the recorder Christine was holding.

"The truth is that I'm, uh, hoping to present something at your Expo," Hammer insisted. "Well," Tony said, sitting down, "if you invent something that works, I'll make sure I get you a slot." Biela sat down beside him. "So, difference between 'on hold' and 'revoked'? Bee, can you explain it?" Both Hammer and the reporter turned to look at her. "Revoked means that the contract is no longer in existence and Mr. Hammer is in very bad graces with the United States military," she said simply. "On hold implies that they are considering revoking the contract, and he is still in very bad graces with the United States military."

"Who would take over the weapons manufacturing for the United States military if Hammer Industries' contract was revoked?" Christine asked, looking between the two weapons moguls. "Well, Stark Industries has been looking at…" Tony began, before he was interrupted by Natalie's, "Mr. Stark?" Tony stood. "Your corner table is ready." "I actually have a slot," Hammer said. "Hammer needs a slot, Christine!" Tony exclaimed. "Bee, why don't you stay here and explain the Accountability Line we've been working on to Miss Everhart?" "Of course, Mister Stark," Biela said, outwardly graceful as she sat back down. Inwardly, she was fuming. She was eleven. She did not want to have to explain this to a reporter. "We kid, Tony and I, we kid, we're kidders," Hammer said.

"Miss Evans, I believe?" Christine said. "What was Mister Stark asking you to explain?" "The Stark Industries Accountability Line is a line of weapons that we are working on in order to ensure that our military is provided with high-quality, meaning not Hammertech, weapons that we can assure the world will not be misused or double-dealt like previous SI weapons," Biela explained. "How does Stark Industries plan to do this?" Christine asked.

"Well, I can't reveal all the details, but Mr. Stark has installed security measures to prevent the weapons from being taken into enemy hands. The more dangerous the weapon, the more high-security they are." "How does this affect prices?" Christine asked. "Well, the security measures do add a rather steep price to the weapons, but considering the quality of our technology, and the small amounts of it needed, due to the world peace created by Mr. Stark's Iron Man, we believe the extra cost to be reasonably, given the circumstances."

"How do you feel about this, Mr. Hammer?" Christine asked. "Tony and I, I love Tony Stark, Tony loves me, we're not competitors…" Biela stopped paying attention, because her eyes were riveted on the screen.


	8. The Iron Bee Suits Up

There was Tony, in a driver's outfit. "Well what's the use of having, and owning, a racecar, if you don't drive it?" The crowd started to cheer. "Is he driving?" Hammer asked. "I have to go," Biela said, rising quickly and practically running over to Pepper. The new CEO looked up and saw Tony on the screen. "Natalie," she said. "Natalie!" "Yes, Miss Potts?" she asked. "Did you know about this?" she asked, gesturing towards the screen. "Uh, this is the first I've known of it," she replied.

"This, this cannot happen, absolutely not," Pepper said as the company driver's name was replaced by 'Stark'. "Absolutely, I understand, how can I help you?" Natalie asked quickly. Biela could tell in her voice. She was worried too. Biela sent her a text through her StarkPad that read, "I won't let Fury kill you if he dies." "Where's Happy?" Pepper asked. "He's waiting outside," Natalie replied. "Okay, get him, I need Happy," Pepper said. "Right away," Natalie said, darting off with a flip of her hair.

Pepper glanced at Biela and mouthed, "Your dad's crazy." Biela could only nod. She noticed Christine across the room, getting up to leave, probably to report on Tony's antics, despite Hammer's efforts to keep her there. On the screen, Tony revved up his engine. The lights turned for them to go. The cars roared off. Tony was number eleven. He moved quickly through the race, doing rather well for someone who'd never driven in a race before.

Both Pepper and Biela glanced outside as Tony passed by them. They exchanged worried glances. Next the television showed a man in an orange jumpsuit walking out onto the track. The crowd was on its feet in worry. Two cars passed by him. Biela quoted one of Tony's favorite movies. "I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered. He pulled apart the front of his jumpsuit, revealing a metal vest. In the center, over his heart, was an arc reactor. "Impossible," Biela gasped. Two electric whips formed in his hands. The electricity burned through the top of his jumpsuit.

Another car came at him, and he lashed the front with one of his whips, cutting straight through it, causing a horrific wreck. Everyone gasped in shock. Biela and Pepper glanced towards the doorway, where Happy held up the football. "No," Biela said. They stood and ran to the car, both jumping into the backseat. "Go, go," Pepper ordered. Neither had their seatbelts on yet. "Hang on," Happy said, just before they plunged through the barrier that divided the road from the racecourse.

Pepper turned to Biela. "Go," she said. "Stay out of sight unless your dad needs help." Biela nodded and stripped off her business dress, revealing the UnderArmour shorts and tank top underneath. She pulled the Mark VB from under the seat and suited up. Just before the helmet clicked over her face, she said, "I'll be careful." Pepper rolled down the window and Biela soared out at supersonic speeds.


	9. Whiplash

**Disclaimer: I do not and will never own Avengers or Iron Man.**

"Jarvinia," Biela ordered. "Yes, Miss Stark?" the AI asked. Jarvinia was the female version of Jarvis, modified by Tony for the Bee suits. "I need a visual on Tony, stat." "Of course, Miss Stark." Jarvinia pulled up the video footage of Tony on the HUD. It showed him rounding the corner, headed straight for the man with the arc reactor. The man, who Biela decided to christen 'Whiplash' struck with his whip, and the front of Tony's car came off. It flipped twice, coming to rest upside down next to the wall.

"Does Tony have his earpiece in?" she asked. "I'm sorry, Miss Stark, he does not," Jarvinia replied. Biela replied with some very not-nice things in every language she could think of. "Miss Stark, I do not believe that Sir would want you to be using such language," Jarvinia replied. "Well, when he stops using it, I'll stop using it," Biela replied. She watched as Whiplash slowly walked towards Tony. Behind him, a car pulled to a stop to avoid hitting him. Two others crashed into it, creating a horrific explosion.

Biela watched with horror as Whiplash lashed Tony's car, revealing that no one was inside. "We are almost there, Miss Stark," Jarvinia said, obviously trying to end her growing anxiety. Just then, Tony jumped from behind Whiplash and hit him on the back of the head with a piece from a car. Whiplash jolted, then slammed Tony. He struck at him twice with a whip. Both times, Tony rolled away, being missed narrowly.

Suddenly, Biela soared into sight and came to a halt, firing at Whiplash with both hands. He flew backwards. Tony gave her a thumbs up. Whiplash used that momentary distraction to strike at Tony, missing him so closely that he flew backwards, landing next to one of the downed cars. "Why don't you pick on somebody of your own strength?" He only laughed as he struck at her with his whip. She flipped out of his way. She shot at him again, but missed. This time, he aimed at Tony once more. Tony jumped out of the way, and the whip struck the gasoline from the car, igniting a rather large blaze. Tony batted out the flames, just in time to jump up onto the wall as Happy slammed into Whiplash. Biela smirked inside her helmet.

"Are you okay?" Happy yelled as Pepper screamed. "Yeah," Tony said. "Were you headed for me or him?" he asked angrily. "I was trying to scare him!" Happy explained. "Cause I couldn't tell!" "Are you out of your mind?!" Pepper yelled. "There was security!" Tony yelled back. "Get in the car!" Pepper screamed at him. "I was attacked!" Tony yelled. "Get in the car!" Happy yelled. "There needs to be better security," Tony said. "You're the CEO, I need a bigger security budget," Tony said. "God," he said as he walked around the car. "I'm embarrassed." He opened the door, muttering, "First vacation in ten years."

Then half the door came off, struck by an electric whip. Happy backed the car up. "Shoot him!" Tony yelled. "I can't, there's too many civilians!" Biela yelled back. Happy charged forward and hit Whiplash once more. "Got him!" Happy yelled. "Hit him again!" Tony ordered. He tried to hold the car door open. "Football," he ordered Pepper. She tried to hand it to him, but Tony lost hold of the door when Happy slammed forward into Whiplash again. "I got him!" Happy yelled. "Take the case, take the case!" Pepper screeched. "Give him the case!" Happy yelled. "Stop backing up!" Pepper replied.

The airbag finally kicked in and hit Happy in the face. Whiplash used that to finally gain some momentum and slam his whip through the center of the car. Pepper screamed. Happy yelled. Biela shot him in the foot. He threw one whip at her, and used the other to hit the car again. Biela dodged away from the whip, which he turned and used to cut off the side of the car. "The case!" Tony yelled. "Please!" He clapped his hands twice. "C'mon!" Pepper finally managed to toss him the case. Tony's hand moved to his pocket, but he realized that he didn't have the key. "Bee?" he asked.

She swooped down and shot Whiplash again. Her glove retracted and she slipped the key out and into the palm of her hand. Biela knelt and unlocked the case. Tony put his foot on the case and started the process. He reached down and grabbed the chest piece, putting it on and then pulling his arms out, the armor going along with it. The breastplate locked around the arc reactor. The red and silver armor finished building itself onto Tony, the helmet snapping into place and the eyes glowing white. Biela had to admit, the Mark V armor had an AWESOME method of suiting up.

**AN: This story is going to have more chapters than Iron Bee, as I have nineteen written already and I'm only halfway through the movie. Besides this movie, I also have to, as the subtitle says, make sure Biela gets her fingers in all the pies. Basically, if Coulson is somewhere, she'll show up there too. And she has the added benefit of supersonic flight, therefore cutting down on travel time. Anyway, this story is going to be longer than the first one. **


	10. You Lose

Iron Man pushed the car away from Whiplash with his foot. Biela shrieked slightly. "Bee," Tony said over the comm. "Protect Happy, Pepper, and all the civilians. Don't fire unless he gets too close, or if I really, really need the help." "The arc reactor is fully functioning," Biela noted. "You're not missing any, are you?" "Jarvis?" Tony asked. "All arc reactors constructed by either you or Miss Stark are accounted for," the AI replied. "Damn," Tony said. "You know I can hear you, right?" Biela asked. "You lived with terrorists and can cuss in every language you can speak, I'm pretty sure you've heard worse," Tony shot back.

Whiplash struck at him as he tried to fire at him with a repulsor. Biela flew to the car and moved it farther away from the fight. Tony tried again, but failed once more. He fired again, but Whiplash caught it with his whips. "Not doing so hot, Tony," Biela warned. Whiplash struck with his whips, grabbing Tony's arm with one and his neck with another. Whiplash used his leverage to throw him to the side. He threw him again. Biela could hear Pepper gasp. "Bee, I could use a little help here," Tony said. Biela fired three quick repulsor blasts, giving Tony time to get back on his feet. Whiplash let go with one whip.

Tony began twisting and ducking under the whip, wrapping it around himself. He finally reached Whiplash and flipped him upside down. Biela flew in quickly and ripped the arc reactor out of his chest. The electricity cut off, the whips crackling. Biela and Tony backed up as the security team rushed in to grab him. She could hear Pepper and Happy sighing with relief. Whiplash spat at them. "You lose," he spat, smiling and laughing. "You lose! You lose Stark!" Biela lifted up the arc reactor. Both she and Tony examined it as Jarvis and Jarvinia pulled up the specs. It was perfect. Biela crushed it between her metal fingers as emergency vehicles rushed in.

"Best get back to the plane, Bee," Tony said. "Before the press get here." Biela nodded once and took off, zooming straight for where the Stark Industries plane was kept at the airport. A hatch on top of the plane was opened by Jarvis to allow her entrance. She quickly got a new car for them and stashed the Mark B in it. She drove down to the track. "I'm here to pick up Mister Stark," she brusquely told the attendants at the gate. They let her in.

When she reached the party, she climbed out of the car and hurried over to Tony. Pepper was hugging him and scolding him about being alive. Biela hugged him as well. "Dying. Not nice," she told him. He gave a small, unconvincing half-smile. "Sorry, Bee." He nodded towards the authorities. "Tell them I want to talk to that guy. Ask where I need to go." Biela nodded and did just that.


	11. In the Jail Cell

"Mister Stark," the lead investigator said, "we ran his prints. We got nothing back, not even a name." Biela quickly translated it, even though Tony didn't need her to. But the Monegasque police didn't know that. "Where are we going?" Tony asked. Biela quickly repeated it in French. "Over there," the investigator pointed. "We're not even sure he speaks English. He hasn't said a word since he got here." Biela translated, then told the man, "I speak more than fifty languages, there is a very good chance that we can communicate. And he said a few words to Mr. Stark after the attack." "Five minutes," Tony said. Biela repeated it.

The investigator opened the door. "Thank you," Biela said, as Tony didn't seem to intend to. Tony stepped inside, followed closely by Biela. The door slammed behind them. Before them was a man clad only in a thin pair of shorts. His back was to them, but they could see his numerous tattoos. Tony took three steps forward, his footsteps echoing on the concrete floor. Biela stayed where she was. "Pretty decent tech," Tony finally said, continuing his walk. "Cycles per second were a little low." He came to a stop near the corner, so that the man could see him.

"You could have doubled up your rotations," Tony advised. He walked closer to the man. "Focused the repulsor energy through ionized plasma channels. It's effective, not very efficient." He stopped next to the man. "But it's a passable knock-off." He sat down on the bench. "I don't get it, with a little fine-tuning you could've, uh, made a solid paycheck if you'd just sold it to North Korea, China, Iran…or gone right to the black market." The man finally turned to look at Tony. He still couldn't see Biela. "You look like you've got friend in low places," Tony finished.

"You come from, uh, family of thieves, and butchers," the man said. Biela silently pulled her StarkPad out. The man was talking. Talking was good. Talking meant information. Information meant answers. "And now, like all guilty men," the man continued, "you try to rewrite your own history, and you forget all the lives the Stark family has destroyed." Biela could tell that Tony was hurt, but it was very subtle. The man, who sounded Russian, probably couldn't tell. "Speaking of thieves, where did you get this design?" Tony asked.

"My father," the Russian said. "Anton Vanko." Biela quickly typed the name in her StarkPad and came up with a name for the son: Ivan. She wrote it in really, really big letters on her StarkPad and held it up so that Tony could see. He acknowledged it with the slightest of nods. "Never heard of him," Tony said. "My father is the reason you're alive." "The reason I'm alive is because you had a shot, you took it, you missed," Tony shot back.

"Did I?" Ivan asked with a smirk. "If you could make God bleed, the people will cease to believe in him, and there will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come. The drones, all they have to do is sit there and watch, as the world will consume you." "Where will you be watching the world consume me from? That's right, a prison cell. I'll send you a bar of soap," Tony said as he stood up. "Have fun in jail…Ivan."

"Hey Tony," Ivan said as Tony walked back towards Biela. "Before you go, at least my father cared enough about me to give me his knowledge. Yours just gave you hate." Tony's eyes widened as Biela knocked twice on the door. "C'est vas," she told the police as they walked out. She slammed the door, but she could still hear Ivan Vanko laughing through the thick steel door.


	12. Omelets

Biela was sitting next to Pepper on the plane, watching the TV screen. "It's…it's just not believable," Senator Stern complained. "It proves that the genie is out of the bottle and this man has no idea what he's doing, he thinks of the Iron Man weapon as a toy! I was at a hearing where Mr. Stark acted…was adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, and won't for at least five to ten years, and here we are in Monaco realizing, uh-oh, these suits exist now." "Mute," Tony ordered from the door.

He walked in, carrying a covered…something. Biela was scared to ask. "He should be giving me a medal," Tony noted. "That's the truth," Biela said. "You defeated the Ten Rings, therefore saving the US military operations in Afghanistan, saving Stern's career, since it was his idea." "Nice Bee, didn't think of that one." He set the rather large platter and the silverware on the table. "What is that?" Pepper asked.

"This is our…in-flight meal," Tony said as he took the lid off, revealing three plates with some sort of burnt yellow thing on them. "Did you just make that?" Pepper asked. "Yeah," Tony said. "Where do you think I've been for the past three hours?" "Tony," Biela and Pepper said simultaneously. "First of all, you two are getting way to good at that." "What are you not telling me?" Pepper asked. "I don't want to go home," Tony said. "Let's cancel my birthday party, and, uh, we're in Europe, let's go to Venice, Chiprioni, 'member?"

Pepper let out something that was halfway between a laugh and a sigh. "Oh yes," she replied. "It's a great place to-to to be healthy." "Tony, I don't think this is the right time…we're in…kind of a mess," Pepper said. "Yeah, but maybe that's why it's the best time," Tony replied. "Well, I think as the CEO, I need to show up," Pepper replied. "As CEO, you are entitled to a…leave." "A leave?" Biela asked. "Are you kidding?" "A company retreat," Tony clarified. "A retreat during…" Pepper said loudly. "Just…just you and me and Bee…" Tony said. "During a time like this?" Pepper finished. "Well, I'm just thinking to recharge our batteries and, and figure it all out," Tony said.

"Not everybody runs on batteries, Tony," Biela said. Pepper and Tony both smiled slightly.


	13. Training

Biela was sitting on the side of the ring when Agent Romanoff walked in. Her entire demeanor was different when she was Natalie Rushman…sweeter. Agent Romanoff was cold and hard. "You ready to train, Miss Stark?" she asked. Like Biela herself, she was dressed in UnderArmour shorts and and t-shirt. "Yep," Biela said. "I do some training with my dad and Happy, but you're sooooo much better than they are. I've seen the video footage."

"How?" the agent asked. "Uh…it's in your file?" Biela said. "My dad taught me how to hack, but I didn't use that. I'm a consultant now, remember? I asked Coulson for some video footage. And don't call me Miss Stark. Or Bianca. I hate Bianca. I detest Bianca. I abhor Bianca. It's Biela, or Bee, if you take after my dad's example." "Fine, Biela then," the spy said. "You can call me Natasha, I guess." Biela smiled. "Great! I'm glad to be training with you, Natasha. Please start out easy, I can't have any bruises that my dad would worry about." "Deal," Natasha replied. "Let's get started."

Four hours later, Natasha had to leave to become Natalie Rushman for Tony's birthday party that night. "Yay," Biela said. "A boring night in my room, trying to sleep while the DJ tries to cancel out the soundproofing.


	14. Natalie's Advice

Natasha walked into Stark's bedroom carrying the box. She found the billionaire standing in front of a mirror in a red bathrobe. "Do you know what watch you'd like to wear tonight, Mr. Stark?" "I'll give'em a look," the genius replied. Natasha set the box on the side table and shook up a bottle. "I should cancel the party, huh?" he asked her. She turned to face him, bottle still in her hands. "Probably," she admitted. Granted, Natalie Rushman was a lot more soft-spoken than she was.

"Yeah, 'cause it's…" Stark began, "Ill-timed?" Natalie said, walking towards him. "Right," Stark said. "Sends the wrong message." "Inappropriate," Natalie added, stopping next to him. She gave him a seductive look and handed him his martini. He took a sip. "Is that dirty enough for you?" she asked quietly. "Uh, gold face, brown band," Stark said, returning his watch conversation. He obviously felt pressured. This was good. "The Yager," Stark clarified. "I'll give that a look."

Natasha allowed herself a small smile as she turned away to get the watch. "Bring them over here," Stark instructed. She brought him the box. "I'll take that," he said. "Why don't you, uh," he was startled as she sat down beside him on the arm of the chair. She dabbed makeup on his face, covering one of the bruises from his fight with the villain that Biela had deemed "Whiplash." "I, uh, I gotta say it, it's hard to get a read on you," Stark admitted.

"Where are you from?" he asked. "Legal," Natasha replied coyly. Stark swallowed and seemed to be mentally preparing himself. "Can I ask you a question, hypothetically? A bit odd. If this was your last birthday party you were ever going to have, how would you celebrate it?" Natalie pretended to think a moment, while in her head she was yelling, "Bingo! He IS dying! Gotta report it." "I would do whatever I wanted to do," she said. "With whoever I wanted to do it with." She got up and walked away, leaving Stark to contemplate her words.


	15. The Party

Biela pulled up the security footage of the party, and was shocked to see her obviously very, very drunk father working the DJ board while wearing the Iron Man suit. This was not good. "Jarvis, initiate lockdown procedures on everywhere that there's not people, except for me, Pepper, and Rhodey, unless Tony's gotten Rhodey drunk, then he's not allowed in either, and send up the Mark VB to my room, please and thank you." "Of course, Miss Stark," the AI replied.

She noticed as Pepper walked in and saw Tony dancing, clearly disapproving. She also noticed that Rhodey seemed to be of the same opinion. "Audio please, J," she ordered as the two ran into each other. "Hey, Pepper," Rhodey greeted. "I'm-I'm-I'm gonna go get some air," Pepper sighed. "What's wrong?" Rhodey asked. Pepper led him into the main area. "I don't know what to do," she said. "You have got to be kidding me," Rhodey said. Pepper shook her head. Tony was dancing on the stage and then fell into his glasses.

"That's it," Rhodey said, "I'm making…" "No, no, no, don't call anyone," Pepper said quickly. "This is ridiculous, I just stuck my neck out for this guy!" "I know, I know, I know, I get it, I'm gonna handle it, okay?" Pepper asked. "Let me handle it." "Handle it," Rhodey said. "Or I'm gonna have to. Please tell me Biela isn't here." "She's up in her room," Pepper replied. "Probably spying on us 'cause she can't sleep with all the noise. Bee, if you can hear us, this is why members of the Stark family should not drink. They have a history of alcoholism."

Up on the stage, Tony was drunk, and it was showing. He had the microphone and was talking. "You know, the question I get asked most often is, 'Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?'" Biela groaned. She knew how her dad's brain worked, and knew where this was going. He took a deep breath, then made a blissful face. "Just like that," he announced. The crowd, mostly filled with woen who wanted to get into his pants, cheered. Pepper walked up onto the stage, a press smile on her face, and took the microphone from Tony.

"Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?" she asked. The crowd cheered again as Tony gave a mock salute. He then began making drunken advances on Pepper. "I love you," he said. "Oh, unbelievable!" Pepper continued, faking cheerfulness. "Thank you so much, Tony, we all thank you so much for such a…wonderful night, and we're gonna say goodnight now and thank you all for coming…" "No, no, no," Tony said, "you can't do that, wa-wa-wait, we didn't, uh, cut the cake, we didn't, uh, blow out the candles…"

"Tony, you're out of control, okay, trust me on this one, okay, it's time to go to bed," Pepper ordered, despite Tony's drunken protests. "It's time," she repeated, as he tried to kiss her. "You just peed in the suit," she said. "It's got a filtration system, you could drink that water, ask Bee, it was her idea." "It's not sexy," Pepper insisted. "Just, just send everybody home, okay?" she asked. "It's time to."

"If you say so," Tony sighed. "Okay," Pepper said, obviously relieved. Biela sighed. She knew that her dad wouldn't give in that easily, especially when drunk. This was the guy who refused to do stuff under the actual pain of death. "I'll take this," Pepper said, taking Tony's wine glass. She handed him the mike.

"Pepper Potts," Tony acknowledged to the crowd. They clapped. "She's right," Tony said. "The party's over, then again, the party was over for me like, an hour and a half ago. The after party starts, in fifteen minutes!" The crowd cheered. Pepper closed her eyes in consternation. "If anybody," Tony continued, "(Pepper), doesn't like it, there's the door!" He pointed, and his repulsor went off, creating a new entrance into the Stark Mansion. It only made the crowd cheer louder. Tony let out this weird, kind of roar thing. Biela groaned. This was bad. This was very bad. A few minutes later, Natasha burst into her room.


	16. Escaping Madness

Biela stared at her in shock. "How did you even get in here?" she asked. "The house is on lockdown." "I asked Jarvis," she admitted, "And told him that I wanted to get you out of here before you got hurt. He's breaking bottles and melons and all sorts of stuff. Never get drunk. You know the old mantra, "With great power…" "Comes great responsibility," Biela finished. "Yeah, my dad has a really big comic book collection. Though it's mostly Captain America, he's still got some of everything."

"Miss Stark, Colonel Rhodes has accessed the lab and is currently suiting up in the Mark II armor. I believe his intentions are to stop Mr. Stark," Jarvis reported. "Well, he needs to be stopped," Biela said. "You need to leave, now," Natasha ordered. "Coulson told me about your fake identity. You can drive, right?" "Yeah," Biela responded. "You have a GPS?" Natasha asked. "Better. I've got Jarvinia in all my cars," the heiress smirked. "A. who's Jarvinia, B. you have multiple cars?" "Yeah, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bugattis, Audis, my dad gets me whatever I want. And Jarvinia is the female version of Jarvis. She's in all my suits, just like Jarvis is in all my dad's. And Jarvinia can drive my cars if need be."

"Great," Natasha said. She grabbed a piece of paper from Biela's desk and scribbled an address. "Apartment 1639. The door code is #6445." "Phil? Your door code is Coulson's first name?" Biela laughed. "Yeah. Anyway, he's up there, with my partner. I'll be there as soon as this mess is cleared up." "Miss Stark, Colonel Rhodes is making his way upstairs. You may wish to watch," Jarvis informed her. "Transfer footage to my StarkPad," Biela said, grabbing it from her nightstand. She also picked up a duffel bag and the Mark VB case from near the door. "Emergency bag," she explained to Natasha. "I thought it would be a good idea."

They went out into the hall where they went their separate ways, Biela taking the back stairs while Natasha went back to the party. Biela was watching her StarkPad as Rhodey said, "I'm only going to say this once. Get out." The crowd hurried away. "You don't deserve to wear one of these!" Rhodey said, pointing at Tony. "Shut it down!" he ordered.

Tony, being Tony, turned around and held the mike to his face. "Goldstein," he ordered. The frightened DJ popped up from behind his desk. "Yes, Mr. Stark?" "Give me a fat beat to beat my bestie," Tony burst out laughing. As Tony and Rhodey began fighting, Biela shut the StarkPad off. "Jarvis, inform me of any major happenings with this fight. She threw her bags into the passenger seat of her Audi R8 Spyder convertible. "Jarvis, lockdown everything else as soon as I'm out, even to Rhodey and Pepper. Only let them in with my permission. Be ready to institute any and all emergency protocols to help Tony. Have Dummy ready with the fire extinguisher, and make sure the bots are capable of delivering hangover remedies." "Yes, Miss Stark," the AI replied.

She got in the car and drove out of the garage, incognito among all the other fancy cars there. "Jarvinia, what's the fastest way to Natasha's apartment?" "Right this way, Miss Stark," the AI replied pleasantly.


	17. Fights and First Names

Biela knocked on the door of the apartment. A man opened the door. It wasn't anyone she knew, but she could see Agent Coulson in the background. "Can I help you?" the man asked. "Natasha sent me," she replied quickly. Agent Coulson looked up at that. "Biela?" he said, surprised. "What are you doing here?" "My highly drunk father is in the Iron Man suit and has a very high chance of blowing up the house, so Natasha sent me here," Biela replied. "Can I come in, or do I have to stand in the hallway all night?"

The man before her gestured. "Be my guest." She stepped in quickly, and he closed the door behind her. "You're the Stark girl," he said. "And you're Hawkeye," she replied. "How'd you know?" he asked suspiciously. "Your bracers left tan lines and there's only one SHIELD archer," she replied. "Plus, Coulson told me." "Agent Barton, at your service," the archer said, extending his hand. "Biela Stark," she replied, shaking it.

"Do you want to see what's going on with my dad?" Biela asked, holding up her StarkPad. "You can pull up the footage?" Agent Barton asked, surprised. "Yeah, we've got awesome security footage. It's as good as professional videotaping. Color footage with audio. From my dad's state of drunkenness, it looks like it's going to be entertaining." "Can you hook it to the TV?" Coulson asked, gesturing towards the 60 inch on the wall. "Sure. Give me a minute," Biela replied with a smirk.

Less than sixty seconds later, the StarkPad was hooked to the screen, and Biela inputted her password to access the security feeds again. She started it up at the area where Tony asked for a beat. The video started up, along with the music. Rhodey came up behind Tony and grabbed him. "I told you to shut it down," he growled. Tony just smirked. His mask came down and he grabbed Rhodey's arm and jumped up, using his repulsors to fly back through two walls into the training room.

Rhodey landed in a heap, while Tony landed gracefully one his feet. "Now," Tony said as he walked away, "put that thing back where you found it and no one gets hurt." He was almost to the door when he was hit in the back of the head by a weight. Tony turned around as Rhodey threw another one. It struck the glass door leading into the shower. "Damn!" one of them cursed. Tony picked up a dumbbell and hit him in the head, knocking him back to the other end of the boxing ring. "Sorry, pal," Tony said, hovering above him. "Iron Man only has one sidekick." "Side…kick…this!" Rhodey replied, hitting him several times with a pole. He then threw him upstairs into one of the guest bedrooms. "That's Rhodey's room when he stays over," Biela commented as Rhodey shakily flew up into the room. "Had enough?" he asked.

Jarvis switched the screen to show Pepper walking up to Natalie as she returned from helping Biela. "Natalie!" she exclaimed angrily. "Miss Potts," Natalie replied. "Don't you 'Miss Potts' me, I'm onto you, and you know what? Ever since you came here…" she was interrupted in her tirade as Rhodey and Tony crashed through the ceiling. She screamed. Happy ran over to her, yelling, "Pepper!" as she watched dumbly. "We have to get out of here, get out of here," he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her away. Natasha stalked away in a different direction, presumably to return to her car and then the apartment.

All the party guests were standing outside the living room, watching the fight. "You want it?" Tony yelled. "Take it!" he added as he judo-flipped Rhodey. They continued punching each other until he punched Rhodey into the piano. He turned around to face the crowd. "Aah!" he yelled threateningly. The crowd ran away. "He did it to keep them safe," Biela informed the SHIELD agents. "He looked threatening, but it's not like he did anything to actually hurt them." They nodded, and they returned their attention to the footage.

Rhodey got up and hit Tony in the head with a piece of the piano. Tony ended up in the fireplace, and the gas appliance set him on fire. He pulled himself out, breaking the wall in the process. Thankfully, the suit was fireproof. Then Tony held up his hand, palm – and repulsor – towards Rhodey. Rhodey did the same. "Put your hand down," he ordered. "Tony doesn't listen to orders," Biela said, rolling her eyes. "And I'm pretty sure drunk Tony is just as stubborn as sober Tony." "You think you got what it takes to wear that suit?" "You don't have to do this, Tony," Rhodey insisted.

"You want to be the War Machine, take your shot!" Tony mocked. "Put it down!" Rhodey ordered. "You gonna take a shot?" Tony asked. "Put it down!" Rhodey yelled. "No!" Tony replied, as the repulsor fired up. "Drop it, Tony!" Rhodey replied, his repulsor firing up as well. "Take it," Tony insisted. The two repulsors fired and met in a blinding explosion, completely destroying the living room. Tony was lying by one wall, his eyes dark. Then they lit up, as he looked around. Rhodey was standing by the window. He took a long look at Tony, then took off into the night. Tony watched him go.

Biela shut the StarkPad off. "Boo. There goes all our hard work in keeping that out of the hands of the military. Jarvis, lockdown all tech from being downloaded, and if they try to dissect it, set it for self-destruct. They may have the Mark II, but they are not getting any more. Any modifications go by me, and if I say self-destruct, it goes boom. Capisce?" "Of course, Miss Stark," the AI replied from the StarkPad.

"So…how long do you think it'll take Natasha to get here?" Agent Barton asked. "At least an hour," Biela replied. "And that's only if she doesn't have to face Pepper's wrath." "How long do you need to stay?" Agent Coulson asked. "At least until Natasha reports that the estate is clear. And I want to know why you're investigating my dad, since I'm working for you know. I deserve to know what is going on in my own house." "Why should we tell you?" Agent Barton challenged. "Because it's the right thing to do," she replied. "And I have enough blackmail material to force it if you refuse."

Coulson sighed. "Fine. We'll talk when Natasha gets here. In the meantime, do you want to watch a movie? I'd guess you're a bit behind due to your…personal experiences." Biela rolled her eyes. "I don't go into a panic attack because of Afghanistan. Sure, I have nightmares, chronic insomnia…but I can talk about it. I don't like sand, or caves, and I'll probably never go to Afghanistan again, but I don't freak out if you talk about it. And what have you got?"

Agent Barton excitedly went into a whole recitation of the movies they had. "Men In Black," Biela said. "I have no earthly idea what it is, but it sounds like Agent Coulson!" "You can call me Phil, Biela," the agent chuckled. "And you can call me Clint," the archer said with a grin. "And you're right. Phil is JUST like Agent K."


	18. The Will

Natasha arrived almost two and a half hours later. By then, they were halfway through the second movie. "Hi, Natasha!" Biela said cheerfully. "Did you get chewed out by Pepper?" The spy only nodded. Biela winced. "I know personally how painful Pepper's lectures are." She shrugged. "Been through worse," the spy replied. "Ugh. I didn't know that could be possible. Anyway, we're watching Men In Black II, we already watched the first one, wanna join? We've got about forty-five minutes left."

"I need to report in to the director," she said tiredly. "Then I can." "Oh, you mean the super-secret Director Nicholas Joseph Fury, who would make an excellent Dread Pirate Roberts?" "You've seen that movie?" Clint asked. She nodded. "It's Pepper's favorite." "How do you know about our director?" Phil asked. "Tony told me," she replied. All three rolled their eyes.

Natasha left the room, and returned a few minutes later, her face grim. "Fury's coming here," she replied. "He wants to talk to Stark. The Black Widow is helping him." "I want in, too," Biela replied. "He really is dying, isn't he," Biela said softly. Natasha nodded slowly. "I saw the poison charts. 89% before the party." "Usage of the Iron Man suit would have increased the palladium levels," Biela replied instantly. "If he wasn't dying, I'd murder him myself. He changed his will."

"What?" the SHIELD agents said in unison. "The will. He changed it. Everything is being left to me, with Pepper as my legal guardian. At the age of fourteen, I'm supposed to apply for emancipated minor status. Pepper is to be CEO until I take over the company myself," Biela replied. "And by everything, I mean everything. The properties, the stocks, the fortune, the company…it's all being left to me." "He's not leaving anything to Pepper or Rhodey or Happy?" Natasha asked. "His MIT stuff, all the stuff from their friendship…that goes to Rhodey. Happy will be made Head of Security at SI, and a very handsome bonus, and Pepper gets to be my legal guardian, CEO, and another very handsome bonus."

"So...I suppose you want to know what we've got planned for  
tomorrow?" Natasha asked. Biela nodded. "Yes. Sit down. It can wait until after the movie."


	19. Donuts for Dad

The next morning, Tony Stark was found sitting in a doughnut. It was a very large doughnut on top of Randy's Donuts shop. Nick Fury confronted him, in all his African-American, black leather, eye-patched glory. Biela and Natasha watched from a surveillance van outside, along with Phil and Clint. The other tac team was in the second van. "Sir," Fury yelled at him. "I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut." Phil and Natasha both hid smirks. Clint chuckled. Biela laughed straight out.

Tony looked down and lowered his sunglasses, obviously not believing his eyes.

Inside the shop, Tony sat across from Fury in a window booth. Biela was watching from the wings. "I told you, I don't want to join your super-secret boy band," Tony remarked. Fury chuckled. "No, no, no, see, I, I remember you do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?" He took a sip of coffee. "It's, it's it's, it's…" Tony took a sip of coffee himself. Then he put the cup down. "I'm sorry, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot, do I look at the patch or the eye?" Fury only looked at him. Tony continued, "Honestly, I'm a bit hungover, I'm – I'm not sure if you're real or if, if I'm having…" "I am very real," Fury interrupted. "I'm the realest person you're ever going to meet."

"Just my luck," Tony replied. "Where's the staff here?" Fury reached out and touched the exposed poison on Tony's neck. At the same moment, Natasha walked in to report to Fury. Biela followed her."That's not looking so good." "Been worse," Tony replied. Their heels clicked on the tiled floor as they approached, though neither man turned to look. "We've secured the perimeter, but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer," Natasha reported. Tony sat down his coffee and then looked at her over his glances in complete shock. Natasha as the Black Widow was sort of scary-awesome, and she was like the only person ever to pull that uniform off. Fury smirked at Tony's surprise. So did Biela, though Tony hadn't noticed her yet.

"You're uh…fired," Tony said. "That's not up to you," Natasha shot back as she sat down beside Fury. Tony took his glasses off. "Tony," Fury said, wrapping his arms around the stoic agent. "I'd like you to meet Agent Romanoff." "Hi," Tony said. "I'm a SHIELD shadow," she said. "Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury." "I suggest you apologize," Tony said. "She doesn't need to do anything of the sort," Biela said, sitting down beside him. Like Tony, she was in her full Bee suit, minus the helmet.

"Bee?" he asked in total shock. "Are you sure I'm not hallucinating?" "You're not hallucinating, and I'm a psychologist, so you'd better believe it!" she fired. "It is you," Tony said. She hit him in the back of the head. "That's for blowing up the house." She hit him again. "That's for changing your will without telling me or Pepper." She hit him again, the hardest of all. "And that's for lying about DYING!" she screeched. She sobered up. "Dad, why didn't you tell me?" Tony was silent, dumbstruck. "You called me dad," he said.

"You've been very busy," Fury said. "You made your girl your CEO, changed your will so your daughter inherited everything, you're giving away all your stuff, you let your friend fly away with your suit! Now, if I didn't know better…" "You don't know better," Tony interrupted. "I didn't give it to him, he took it." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what now, he took it? You're Iron Man and he just took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass, and took your suit. Is that even possible?" Fury asked, as he looked to Natasha.

"Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage," Natasha replied. "And Miss Stark made sure that the technology cannot be downloaded, dissected, or reproduced without her permission." "Miss Stark?" Fury asked. "True and true. Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes was authorized to use the Mark II armor and the Mark II armor only. Attempted usage of any of the other Marks would have resulted in lockdown of his clearance and immediate expulsion from the Stark property, as well as immediate notification sent to me, Mr. Stark, and Miss Potts."

Fury gave Tony a look. Tony sighed. "What do you want from me?" "What do we want from you? Nuh-uh-uh, what do you want from me? You, have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe! I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with!" Natasha gave back, handed something to Biela, and sat down next to Fury. "Hit him," Fury ordered. Biela injected him behind the ear.

"Yaagh!" Tony yelped, sitting up straight. "What, are they planning next, to steal my kidney and sell it?" Natasha grasped his chin and turned his head so that they could see the poison retreating. He looked at Fury. "Could you please not do anything awful for…five seconds?" "What'd she just do to me?" he asked Fury. "What did we just do for you," Fury corrected. "That's lithium dioxide, it's gonna take the edge off, we're trying to get you back to work."

"Great," Tony muttered. "Give me a couple boxes of that and I'll be right as rain." "It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms," Biela informed him. "Doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy fix," Fury remarked. "Trust me, I know, I'm good at this stuff, so is Bee, I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I have tried every combination, every permutation of every known element." "Well, I'm here to tell you, you haven't tried them all."


	20. In SHIELD Custody

**Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man or the Avengers and unfortunately never will.**

**AN: I'm not going to apologize for how short this chapter is, because I'll probably post again later today, but I will apologize for how long it has been since I've posted. I sort of lost interest in this story, but I think I have it back. This ought to be over by the end of the summer, and I'll hopefully have the "Avenger Bee" (working title, suggestions are welcome) up before IM3 comes out.**

Fury and Tony sat in the middle of the destroyed living room. "You are so lucky that my bedroom is still in one piece," Biela informed Tony as she sat down. "Otherwise, you'd be dead meat." "That thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology," Fury told Tony. "No, it was finished," Tony argued. "It's never been particularly effective until I miniaturized it and put it in my…" "No," Fury interrupted. "Howard said the arc reactor was a stepping stone to something greater. He was about to kick off an energy race that was going to dwarf the arms race. He was on to something big, something so big that it was going to make the nuclear reactor look like a triple-A battery." "Just him, or was Anton Vanko in on this too?" Tony asked as he poured himself another drink.

"Anton Vanko is the other side of that coin," Fury explained. "Anton saw it as a way to get rich. When your father found out, he had him deported. When the Russians found out he couldn't deliver, they shipped his ass off to Siberia and he spent the next twenty years in a vodka-fuelled rage. Not quite the environment you want to raise a kid in, the son you had the misfortune of crossing paths with in Monaco." "You told me I hadn't tried everything, what do you mean I haven't tried everything?" Tony asked. "What haven't I tried?" "Howard said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started," Fury said, taking another drink.

"He said that," Tony said in disbelief. "Mm-hmm," Fury replied. "Are you that guy?" he asked. "Hm? Are you? 'Cause if you are, then you can solve the riddle of your heart." "That sounds like a line from the romance movies that Pepper likes," Biela commented. Tony was still staring at Fury and shaking his head. "I don't know where you're getting this information, but, uh, he wasn't my biggest fan." "What do you remember about your dad, huh?" Fury asked. "He was cold, he was calculating, he never told me he loved me, he never even told me he liked me. So it's a little tough for me to digest when you're telling me he said the whole future was riding on me, and he's passing down…I don't get that. You're talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school."

"That's not true," Fury said. "Well, then clearly you know my dad better than I did," Tony said, leaning back and putting his feet up. "As a matter of fact, I did," Fury said. "He was one of the founding members of SHIELD." Tony sat up quickly. "What?" he asked. "I knew that," Biela said smugly. Two agents carried in a large chest. "I've got a two o'clock," Fury said, standing up. "Wa-wa-wa-wa-wait," Tony said. "What's this?" he asked, also standing. "Okay, you're good, right?" Fury said, checking his watch. "No, I'm not alright," Tony said. "You-you got this," Fury said turning to leave. "Got what?" Tony asked as Fury left. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to get!" "Natasha will remain a floater at Stark with her cover intact and you remember Agent Coulson, right?" "Yeah," Tony said. "And Miss Stark has already been briefed on some of the answers to your questions," Fury added as he left.

Tony turned to look at Biela in amazement. She stuck her tongue out. "That's what you get for leaving me to my own devices while you try to hide the fact that you're dying from me." "Oh, and Tony," Fury said, turning back. "Remember: I got my eye on you." Tony only stared as Fury turned and walked away. "We've disabled all communications, no contact with the outside world," Natasha informed him. "Good luck!" she said with a smirk as she also left.

Tony looked at Coulson. "Please," he said with a small shake of his head. "First thing, I need a little body work, I'll put in a little time in the lab, if you could send one of your goon squad down to the Coffee Bean cross the street for a Starbucks run or something like that?" he asked as he walked towards Coulson. "I'm not here for that," Coulson said cheerily. "I've been authorized by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave…" "Right," Tony said. "Play any games," Coulson continued. "I will taze you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet. 'Kay?" "Bee, you're really going to let him do that?" Tony pleaded, looking back at her. "I could taze you instead, if you'd rather," she offered. "Still mad at you." Tony turned back to Coulson. "I got it." "Enjoy your evening's entertainment," Coulson said, turning and walking away. Tony and Biela both looked at the box. It read, "Property of H. Stark."


End file.
